Introduction
German cars are typically known for being both expensive and unreliable. Routine maintenance even tends to cost more on German cars for no apparent reason other than the fact that they’re German. But if all of this is true, why is it that we still see so many German cars on the road? Well, the answer must be that there are some things that German cars do damn well. The big 3 German car manufacturers that I will focus on in this article are BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi. In this article we’ll talk about what each of these manufacturers do best and what they’re known for.
BMW
BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, or Bavarian Motor Works in English. They are a well-respected luxury and performance car manufacturer, as are the other German manufacturers mentioned in this article. They are most well known for their M cars, which are performance-focused sedans, coupes and sometimes SUVs, arguably their most popular car is the M3.
BMWs also have a reputation for being very unreliable, they also tend to have high maintenance costs, but that is true for the other brands on this list as well. Of the brands on this list, BMW undoubtedly has the worst reputation in the reliability department, however I would like to mention that their newer platforms with the B58 and S58 platforms are very promising.
Despite everything that I’ve mentioned in the previous paragraph, we still see BMWs everywhere, many popular car influencers tend to have at least one M car in their collection, and we see many people who use BMWs as their daily drivers. I won’t deny that part of this is status, these aren’t cheap cars and people like to buy them to show others how much money they have. Additionally, BMWs are quite luxurious, more so than most Japanese or American brands, which could help to explain why so many people daily drive them. However, neither of those are the reasons that make BMWs shine, because Audi and Mercedes also have nice interiors and cost a lot of money, so what makes people go for BMW?
The answer is that most BMWs are capable of delivering an exceptional and raw driving experience. They offer precision and driving dynamics that far exceed most other vehicles in their price ranges. An M3 is not the most reliable or luxurious amongst its competitors, but it is amongst the fastest. BMWs also look the part as well, their performance vehicles look sporty and damn good (except for the M2 in my opinion). The combination of their performance and looks delivers a package that is undeniably appealing, they look like great sports and can drive like even better ones.
I’d also like to clarify that I am not saying Mercedes or Audi have no cars that can challenge BMWs performance, what I am saying is that this is what BMW is known for. Typically, when a person is looking to buy an Audi, BMW or Mercedes within the same price range, they would gravitate towards BMW if what they’re after is precision driving and a raw experience. To conclude, BMW is known for its sporty vehicles and driving dynamics, this is what they can do better than Mercedes and Audi, and is what they’re known for.
Mercedes Benz
Mercedes Benz is a German car manufacturer that was founded by Karl Benz, Gottleib Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach and Emil Jellinek in 1926. The name Mercedes came from the daughter of Emil. It is difficult for me to say which one of Mercedes’ cars is their most popular, I’d say that it’s somewhere between the C63, AMG GT or the S class. In fact, Mercedes is quite good at many things, which has allowed them to have several popular cars in different segments.
They have been noted to have a better reliability record than BMW, in fact many mechanics complain that BMW uses a lot of plastic for parts in their engine bays that lead to failures, while Mercedes often uses metal for the same parts. Mercedes is also known for having high maintenance costs, though I wouldn’t say that their maintenance costs are any higher than the other car manufacturers in this article.
In North America Mercedes cars are everywhere, at least one can be spotted on usually any drive. Some people use their SUVs as family vehicles, some people use their sedans as daily drivers, and you’ll occasionally see their sports models out on backroads or on a track. But if we’ve already established that BMW is the better performance brand, then what does Mercedes have going for it?
As was the case with BMW, there are two answers to that question. Mercedes is known for luxury and effortless power, I’ve always thought of them as German muscle cars. The interiors of even the lowest tier Mercedes will put most other cars to shame, Mercedes is the king of luxury amongst the Big 3 Germans, and I’ll die on that hill. What I mean by effortless power is that you can just put your foot down and it feels like it takes no effort for the engine to throw the car forward, as if the power will just keep coming.
This helps aid with their luxury experience, they aim to deliver smooth acceleration, and given that their vehicles are usually heavy, this requires very torque heavy engines that can get these big cars moving (click here to read my article about Torque and Horsepower, or watch the YouTube video here). Once again, I’m not saying that a BMW or Audi couldn’t deliver more power than a Mercedes. I’m saying that the reason someone would gravitate more towards Mercedes over BMW or Audi, in a given price range, would be because they are after luxury and raw power. To sum it up, Mercedes is known for luxury and power that feels both endless and effortless, you can just put your foot down and the car will go.
Audi
Last but not least, we arrive at Audi, I must also admit that I am a big fan of Audi. Over the years they have started to grow on me, they seem to deliver quite complete packages. But I won’t let that bias me, I still conducted a full analysis as I did with BMW and Mercedes.
Audi was created by a man named August Horch, who started out working at Mercedes Benz in the 20th century. In 1899 he started his own company but ended up leaving in 1904 due to differences in opinions and decided to found a new car company. For this new company he was no longer allowed to use his name (as that was the name of the first company he founded), so he translated his name to Latin, which was Audi.
Similar to Mercedes, Audi has a few different that it is known for in different segments. But similar to BMW, Audi does have a line of cars that it is most well known for, that is the RS line. If I had to pick, I might say that Audi is most well known for the R8, but I don’t think that car is entirely indicative of what the brand is best known for.
Of course, like the other brands in this article, Audi’s typically have expensive maintenance costs, but their reliability is debated. It is clear that they tend to be more reliable than BMW, but it isn’t clear whether they are more or less reliable than Mercedes. We’ve already established that BMW is known for precision driving and a raw experience, while Mercedes is known for effortless power and luxury, so then what does that leave for Audi?
Following a similar suit to Mercedes and BMW, the answer to this question has two parts. Audi is known for its AWD mastery and brutal power. Audi’s Quattro system is amongst the best AWD drive systems (read my article about drivetrains here) that exist today, some may argue that BMW’s XDrive is comparable, I’d disagree. Audi has proven its AWD prowess time and time again; you can find multiple videos of Audi’s pulling out stuck vehicles in snow. And not just the high-end models, quite a few of these videos are base models. In my opinion, the only AWD system that can come close to Quattro is Subaru’s and that would be a big battle.
The brutal power part will take some explaining, despite spending hours trying to think of how to best put it in words, I’m still not happy with it – but I’ll do my best to explain it in this paragraph. The RS cars (RS3, RS5, RS6, and RS7) have an aggression of sorts to them, they are almost like sleepers. For example, the RS3 can punch well above its price in performance, and yet time after time it gets underestimated, and I’d say the same goes for the other RS cars. They are all capable of incredible power and acceleration, which when coupled with their insane AWD system creates a monstrous car. They can hit you like a sledgehammer with their acceleration from a dead stop.
The RS6 and RS7 have so much power from their massive engines that they feel unstoppable, and the RS3 can compete with cars far beyond its price range. They don’t have the precision of an M car or the effortless power of an AMG, but they offer a fearsome performance proposition with their power and AWD. Someone would likely gravitate more towards Audi over BMW and Mercedes if they were after grip and power, and wanted to remain stealthy.
Conclusion
I’ll take a moment here to summarize everything that I’ve covered so far briefly. BMW is known for offering precision driving and raw experience through their performance cars. Mercedes is known for offering unmatched luxury and effortless power through their vehicles. And last but not least, Audi is known for offering an incredible AWD experience and brutal (sleeper-like) power.
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Sources: UnitedBMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Throttle House, Auto Trader, BMW Doctor, Georgian BMW, Mercedes-Benz of Washington, Carwow, Archibalds
